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318 & Vdrive

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amantinori

Contributing Member
Got the new 318 working real well, question is now what to expect on the transmission? It seems to be all original, what can go wrong or what will go wrong? does any one have some knowledge on these things?
 
Make DAMN sure it's filled with fluid to the Full mark when WARMED up. These tranmissions takes very little oil, so a little a bit missing is significant. Even a cup low can cause slipping and burn up the trans.

Here's the recommended oil checking procedure: Warm the motor up thoroughly IN THE SLIP, then shut if off and immediately pull the dip stick. Oil should be at or slightly above Full. (When cold, it will be way above Full--that's okay.) Note where the level is cold, the next day, for future reference.

Trust me on this! I had one a cup or so low and it slipped on me.

Jeff
 
what fluid are you using in the trans, the existing fluid in mine is yellow/orange. I assumed it was the typical auto trans fluid but never seen any that color.
 
You are hoping you have a velvet drive tranny and not the paragon cause its gettin near impossible to find good parts at reasonable prices for the paragons.
 
Use regular dextron ATF in the trans, jeff's fluid checking procedure is right on. In the Vee drive use 30 weignt motor oil. mine is a walter and thats what the rebuilder recommended. 4yrs running now and no problems. also try to keep the bilge aqs dry as possible, those vee drives sit way low in the bilge and rotting of the lower case can happen, especially around the drain hole.
 
Yep, 30w in the Walter V-drive .....ATF in the Velvet Drive.........Another thing you might want to look at* is the the very top cap on the v-drive if its a Walter(6 bolts or so) the cooling water for everything gets pulled thru here first so check the bronze fittings real good for leaks and on the inside of the pipe for corrosion and more importantly blockage.Ream them out real good till you see bronze.Then pull that cap off the v-drive and the control cable mount should come too.I think that 2 or 3 screws will be a tad longer for the mounting plate, inside of there you will find the oil line in an accordian manner like this ~~~ you should see extensive corrosion around that line,there will be channels that direct the water that comes in. you need to scrape all the metal/junk from that area.BE VERY CAREFUL NOT TO CUT THAT LINE OR EVEN BEND IT OR THE PARTIES OVER!!! just clean it out so you get good oil cooling and good pressure for the rest of the engine.A dremel tool and a flathead works best.Once its clean enough for you , rinse or blow it out,clean it out with a good degreaser (paint thinners then acetone is my choice and get some interprotect 2000e and get a little brush, tape up the oil line and coat the inside and all threaded areas even inside the pipe fittlings with 2 coats,quart will do you.Its a 2 part paint.
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Then you will have to make your own gasket material for the plate*to go back on and copper coat gasket material will be fine here as this is cast iron
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Make sure you can get that gasket material before you go digging in.
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When you do the gasket make sure to cut the middle out so that doesnt fall apart later and block the cooling system(follow the flat surfoace on the top cap and be sure to include the dipstick area........you'll see it!!
 
another thing is to be absolutely sure that the detents of the shifter is engaged properly. if you move the shifter by hand with the linkage off you will feel it click, thats where you have to adjust the shifter cable. do this in fwd and rev. a few times to make sure its right. if its off even slightly, the oil passages in the trans will be blocked off and not enough fluid will get to the clutches and cause damage. in some years like the early 80,s they used regular car paper clutches to cut costs, and as expected they couldn't handle the harsh marine stresses and failed quicker. when I had mine rebuilt and recased the mechanic told me that, and he put in the better fiber clutches. Working good so far, knock wood
 
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